In politics, campaign advertising is propaganda through the media to influence a political debate and, ultimately, voting. Political consultants and political campaign staff design these ads. Many countries restrict the use of broadcast media to broadcast political messages. In the European Union, many countries do not permit paid-for TV or radio advertising for fear that wealthy groups will gain control of airtime, making fair play impossible and distorting the political debate.
In both the United Kingdom and Ireland, paid advertisements are forbidden, though political parties are allowed a small number of party political broadcasts in the run-up to election time. The United States has a very free market for broadcast political messaging. Canada allows paid-for political broadcasts but requires equitable access to the airwaves.
Campaigns can include several different media (depending on local law). The period during which political campaign advertising is permitted varies significantly from country to country, ranging from campaigns in the United States that last a year or more to places such as the UK and Ireland, where advertising is restricted by law to just a few weeks before the election. Social media has become very important in political messaging, making it possible to reach larger groups of constituents with minimal physical effort or expense. However, the overall messaging across these channels often needs to be managed by campaign managers.
History
Political advertising has changed drastically over time.
United States In his campaign for the 1948 United States presidential election, Harry S. Truman was proud of his accomplishment of shaking approximately 500,000 hands and covering 31,000 miles of ground across the nation. But that accomplishment was soon to pale in comparison when in 1952, the 1952 United States presidential election saw a major change in how candidates reached their potential audiences. With the advent of television, war hero and presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower, created forty twenty-second television spot commercials entitled, "Eisenhower Answers America" where he answered questions from "ordinary" citizens in an attempt to appear accessible to "the common man". These questions were filmed in one day using visitors to Radio City Music Hall, who were filmed gazing up at Eisenhower as he answered questions about the Korean War, government corruption, and the state of the economy. He did not have to shake a half a million hands or travel the country extensively. He won the trust of the American people with his direct approach and subsequently the presidential election. His vice president was Richard M. Nixon.
In the 1960 United States presidential election, Vice President Nixon used a formal television address in his presidential campaign, designed to answer questions about The Cold War and government corruption, and to show Americans that he was the stronger, more experienced candidate. On the other side of the fence, Catholic born John F. Kennedy created approximately 200 commercials during his campaign, but there were two that made Nixon's efforts futile. The first was a thirty-minute commercial created from a speech he delivered in Houston, where he called for religious tolerance in response to criticism that Catholicism was incompatible with a run for the Oval Office. The second and more memorable was the first Kennedy-Nixon debate. In the first of four televised debates, Kennedy appeared tanned and confident in opposition to Nixon, who looked pale and uncomfortable in front of the camera. Seventy-five million viewers watched the debates, and although Nixon was initially thought to be the natural successor to Eisenhower, the election results proved otherwise, and Kennedy was ultimately declared the winner.
In the 1964 United States presidential election, aggressive advertising paved the way for a landslide victory for Lyndon B. Johnson. One of the first negative and maybe the most controversial commercial, perhaps of all time, was an advertisement dubbed "The Daisy Girl." The commercial showed a young girl picking the petals off a daisy. After she finishes counting, a voice off camera begins a countdown to a nuclear explosion. The ad ends with an appeal to vote Johnson, "because the stakes are too high for you to stay home." The commercial used fear and guilt, an effective advertising principle, to make people take action to protect the next generation. The ad ran for under a minute and only aired once, but due to the right wing, pro-war views of Barry Goldwater, the Republican candidate, it resulted in a 44 to 6 state victory for Lyndon B. Johnson.
Over the next decade, the United States saw the rise of the televised political attack ad. Richard M. Nixon was especially proficient at this form of advertising, and his commercials proved to be very successful in his reelection campaign during the 1972 United States presidential election, where he won handily with a 49 to 1 state victory. George McGovern ran a campaign free of political attack ads until the very end of his campaign, when he tried to attack Nixon after he realized he was dipping lower in the polls. His attempt proved to be too late, but his neutral style of attack ads against Nixon, featuring white text scrolling across a black background, became what is now seen as a fairly common method used in political and product advertising.
Attack ads continued to become the norm in political advertising. Ronald Reagan used them against Jimmy Carter during the 1980 United States presidential election. It was also the first time that a family member was also used to attack the opposing candidate. One particular advertisement showed Nancy Reagan (Reagan's wife) accusing Carter of a weak foreign policy. This campaign also saw the rise of campaign finance issues when Reagan used political action committees to solicit funds on his behalf. However, in Reagan's reelection bid during the 1984 United States presidential election, the United States experienced the beginning of a different form of political advertising; one with a much more positive flow and a stronger, more powerful message. With the country in a relatively prosperous state, advertisements in support of Reagan evoked an emotional bond between the country and its president. Visions of Americans going about their daily lives with relative ease were compiled to convince America that voting against Reagan was a vote against prosperity. The positive and emotionally provocative ads proved more successful than negative attack ads. He was so highly successful that he won against Walter Mondale with a 49 to 1 state victory.
In the 1988 United States presidential election, attack ads returned with a renewed vigor. George H. W. Bush used campaign ads that ridiculed his opponent Michael Dukakis, making him appear soft on crime.Simon, Roger (November 11, 1990). "How A Murderer And Rapist Became The Bush Campaign's Most Valuable Player". The Baltimore Sun. He contrasted these negative ads, with the emotional style commercial used by Ronald Reagan, to capitalize on his connection to the former president. Again borrowing from Reagan's campaign practices, he used free publicity as often as possible, making sure he was photographed in various situations that were likely to be aired in the evening news. Although Michael Dukakis tried to discredit the Bush campaign in many ways, he was ultimately unsuccessful, losing to the former vice president by thirty states.
Regulation
United States While there have been some increases in regulation of campaign finance in the United States, there is generally little regulation of political advertising content. The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 addressed the issue of "soft money" or money contributed through political action committees, raised the legal limits of hard money that could be raised for any candidate, and set limits on what funds could be spent on election broadcasts, but it did not mandate verifiability in political campaign advertising. As of this time, there is no pending legislation addressing this issue.
Currently the Federal Communications Commission requires that the contracts for political ads shown on broadcast stations be posted online, but the agency is considering a proposal to expand that disclosure requirement to other platforms, including radio and cable.
A 2022 study found that candidate-centered campaign advertising became increasingly more prevalent in the United States around 1910. The study linked the increased frequency of candidate-centered advertising to the introduction of direct primaries and nonpartisan elections.
Costa Rica Campaign advertising in Costa Rica is strictly regulated by the Electoral Code, which is overseen by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE). The TSE holds the status of the fourth branch of government in Costa Rica. The Electoral Code regulates a number of aspects of political advertising, such as the media. In this way, media outlets must be registered with the TSE in order to sell advertising space to political parties. Furthermore, any and all outlets must guarantee equal treatment and rates for all candidates participating in Costa Rican politics. The Electoral code also enacts what is known as a campaign blackout period. This period often runs from December 16 to January 1, banning any and all paid promotion in the news and media. A second blackout runs 3 days from the election day to after the day of election, ensuring that civilians are not influenced directly before the election day. The Costa Rican government also relies on Article 142 of the Electoral code, which bars the executive branch from using state resources and/or social media from promoting government projects once elections are called. This aims to prevent any advantage from distorting the democratic process during the election period. The Electoral Code also prohibits any political propaganda invoking religious motives or utilizing religious beliefs to push forward political agendas. The TSE threatens any violators of the Electoral code with financial penalties that can reach up to 23 million colonies.
European Union In the past the Eu's member states have struggled with transparency and accountability. So in March 2024 in order to promote fair elections and debates the EU enforces firm rules around online and offline political advertising. These rules require ads to clearly identify their sponsor, disclose targeting methods, and that ads be in a publicly accessible repository.
In contrast to advertising in the print, radio and internet media, many Member States of the European Union have consistently restricted advertising on broadcast media which are aimed at political ends, both party political advertising and political advocacy by non-partisan groups. These restrictions have been justified on the basis that the ban offers a level playing field in which money interests cannot gain an unfair advantage in the political discourse of a Member State. The broadcast media has been singled out due to its historical reach and influence.